A Conversation with the 2015 Design Awards Winner

Martin Veterinary Centre in Kirkintilloch, Glasgow was the Winner in the Conversion Category as well as being the Overall Winner of the 2015 Design Awards.

Here is an interview with Lynn Martin, MRCVS the owner of Martin Veterinary Centre

in which she describes here experiences with the conversion build of a charming building on a marina.

Practice Name: Martin Veterinary Centre owned by Lynn Martin, MRCVS

Design Award for: Best Conversion and Overall Winner

Q1. Lynn, what were you trying to achieve/what was your overall goal?

A1. I always had a strong desire to build a veterinary centre to my
own specifications. Having outgrown our existing surgery, and having found a
possible new location in Kirkintilloch, I now had the opportunity to put this
in to practice. I wanted to provide my staff, clients and patients with the
very best purpose-built facilities that we could afford, designed to suit all
our needs, in a relaxed, friendly environment.

Q2. What were the 3 most important factors included in your practice
design?

A2. The three most important factors were –

Efficient use of space.

Good ‘flow’.

Maximising natural light.

Q3. Did you use an architect and/or a project manager, Lynn? If not why
not?

A3. I didn’t use an architect because I had a clear idea of what I
wanted and needed, since I had been designing a purpose-built practice in my
head for the last 32 years! All staff were also involved in making a wish
list and many of their suggestions were incorporated in to the design where
possible. My husband, who has a background in surveying and cartography, was
able to draw up the floor plans that I had in my mind on to which we arranged
scale cut-outs of our equipment. We then spent innumerable hours marking out
wall partitions in the new building until a layout was finalised. We then
employed a surveyor as Project Manager to deal with the technical issues and
oversee the construction.

Q4. Did you keep within your budget? If not by what percent did you
exceed your budget?

A4. We kept within our equipment budget but the building costs
exceeded our budget by 18%.

Q5. Lynn, what parts of your project went as you expected, what parts did
not and what would you have done differently?

A5. The initial planning and design process went very smoothly but we
had several problems with the Project Manager including his dealings with,
and payment delays to sub-contractors and his lack of producing relevant
documentation. On reflection, I should have had a much more binding and more
detailed contract with the Project Manager.

Q6. How has this changed your business?

A6. The new premises provide a much more pleasant working environment
and have attracted many new clients. We are able to work far more
efficiently, provide new and improved services and have introduced visiting
specialists who carry out clinics in our centre. This has all led to increased client
numbers and turnover.

Q7. What has winning the Design Award meant to you personally, Lynn?

A7. For the last 32 years, I have been quietly working away in the
veterinary profession and was delighted to be able to fulfil my dream of
building my own purpose-built veterinary centre. To have had such approval
and recognition of my design by a team of distinguished judges from the
veterinary profession has been the highlight of my career and achieving such
an accolade has meant much to me, my family, my staff and the community.

Q8. Was the project very stressful? What was the most stressful
situation?

A8. At times the project was very stressful. I have already mentioned
issues with the Project Manager which led to the project running a month
behind schedule. As a result, on the day of moving from the old premises, the
new practice was not completely finished. Another major stress was trying to
co-ordinate the transfer of phones, computer systems, kennels and X-ray
equipment from one location to another over the course of a weekend and make
them all operational for the usual busy Monday morning clinics.

A bright, airy and
accessible prep room with open-plan lab area and recovery area.

A suite of toilets and
showers serviced by outside contractors, much to the delight of our
staff who now have no toilet cleaning duties!

Q12. Lynn, what tips do you have for others contemplating a building
/refurbishment project?

A12. I would say that the most
important points to consider are –

·To choose the right location with adequate
parking. Also,

·To finalise all the details and measurements
at the planning stages.

·Have a solid and detailed contract with
Project Manager before building begins.

·Involve all members of your team throughout
the process. It is important for them to be consulted, listened to and
valued.

Even after our move, it has taken many months to achieve
the final finished result. It has been an exciting, fulfilling and sometimes
stressful journey but so worthwhile to all those involved. We are all very
proud of our new surgery and absolutely delighted that the judges found us
worthy winners of the award. I know that we are not the biggest, most
high-tech or cutting-edge veterinary practice, so it made it even more
special that the judges liked what we had designed with little outside help
and without having a huge budget.

I have received many congratulations from clients, the
local business community, Glasgow University, our local MSP, Scottish BVA and
BSAVA. I have also been visited by three other veterinary practices who were hoping
to build new premises. They read about and liked our design when it was
published in the Veterinary Practice magazine and I have been delighted to
show them around and hopefully help them a little with some tips and advice.